NEW YORK – Roki Sasaki has told the Yankees and Mets that they are out of the bidding for his services.
As first reported by the YES Network’s Jack Curry, the Yankees were one of several clubs informed Monday by Sasaki’s agent, Joel Wolfe, that the star Japanese right-hander had moved into the finals phase of his decision-making. The Athletic’s Will Sammon was the first to report the Mets had fallen out of contention.
Already, arguably the most rotation-rich club in the majors, the Yankees had been hopeful that Sasaki would be swayed by their pitch to put him in pinstripes, on a staff including Gerrit Cole and Max Fried. The Mets were leaning on their success in transitioning other Japanese players, like Kodai Senga, to lure Sasaki to Flushing.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres and world champion Los Angeles Dodgers are the last teams standing in the Sasaki sweepstakes.
Sasaki’s decision is expected this week, between Wednesday (the opening of the new international signing period) and Jan. 23, when his posting window closes.
Even before Sasaki was posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines, the Dodgers were considered heavy favorites to sign Sasaki, with the Padres next on the list.
If Toronto prevails, Sasaki — armed with an electric arsenal — could be competing against the Yankees in the AL East for years to come.
As per terms of his posting, Sasaki will be signed to a minor league deal, with a signing bonus limited to a team’s international bonus pool money for 2025.
The Yankees and Mets had roughly $6.2 million available in 2025 international bonus pool money.
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Shortly before New Year’s Day, Sasaki began “narrowing the field’’ of suitors, according to Wolfe, who added that Sasaki would decide whether to visit some of the cities with teams in consideration.
Wolfe said 20 of the 30 MLB clubs initially expressed interest Sasaki, but only a limited number of clubs – including the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers and Red Sox, met with him at Wolfe’s Southern California office.
“I’m just happy we have an opportunity,’’ Yankees GM Brian Cashman said last month. “(Sasaki) has a chance to be one of the world’s great pitchers.
“(It) would be nice to have Yankee Stadium be his home.’’
Currently, the Yankees’ rotation features Cole, Fried, AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt. The Yankees have been actively seeking to move Marcus Stroman, due $18 million in 2025, but his trade value is complicated by an $18 million option that vests if he reaches 140 innings in 2025.
Overall, said Wolfe, Sasaki is “very interested in the pitching development and how a team is going to help him get better, both in the near future and in the course of his career.’’
During a four-year NPL career, Sasaki posted a sparkling 2.02 ERA, averaging 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
Sasaki’s electric fastball-splitter-slider arsenal was also on display during the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
But he has never exceeded 130 innings in a season, and his recent injury history includes shoulder inflammation this past season and an oblique issue in 2023.
During the Winter Meetings, Wolfe categorized Sasaki’s recent medical history as “nothing serious.’’
Also, during the process whereby teams met with Sasaki in Southern California, Wolfe said that Sasaki limited the participants to club officials – no current or former players were invited, so as to create a more balanced process.
One of Sasaki’s pitching idols is the former Yankee Masahiro Tanaka, who is still pitching in the Nippon Professional League.
As Wolfe said last month, Sasaki “did not seem overly concerned about whether a team had Japanese players or not.
But that hadn’t swayed the notion that Sasaki might ultimately choose the Dodgers, with Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, another Wolfe client, or the Padres with Yu Darvish – another of Sasaki’s pitching idols.
Mets likely to stand pat
When the news came down that Sasaki would be posted, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns always knew that the right-hander’s candidacy was different because financial force would not be the sole determining factor.
Based on Sasaki’s timeline, Stearns said that the Mets needed to “operate as if you assume you’re not going to get (him).” After entering the Winter Meetings with Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes already locked up, the Mets shored up their rotation by re-signing Sean Manaea to a three-year, $75 million deal in late December.
The potential of adding Sasaki to the top of the rotation was always viewed as a luxury for the Mets.
Now, they will go forward with a unit that also features Senga and David Peterson, with a likelihood of leaning on six pitchers in most turns. Griffin Canning was also added this offseason, while Paul Blackburn and Tylor Megill lurk as down-roster options to fill in as a No. 6 starter.
